Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh could end up owing an IPL 2022 team with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United, a dark-horse. The race to buy two new Indian Premier League teams is really hotting up. If well-placed sources are to be believed, the Bollywood superstar couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are the latest to join the bandwagon.
What was once seen as a two-horse race previously is now going to see multiple companies or consortiums bidding for the two new teams, which the BCCI will sell.
The Adani Group and the RP-Sanjeev Goenka Groups are no more tagged as the ‘favourites’ to walk away with the new teams. However, some serious bidders are willing to spend money on the world’s most lucrative T20 cricket league, said a top official involved with the bidding process.
Deepika Padukone And Ranveer Singh Could End Up Owing A New IPL 2022 Team Along With Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United
IPL and Bollywood have always had a great connection. Kolkata Knight Riders continue to be co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, while Preity Zinta has stakes in Punjab Kings. Deepika Padukone has sport in her genes.
Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a former All England badminton champion. Ranveer Singh has been involved with the English Premier League and is currently the brand ambassador of the world’s most popular basketball league, the NBA.
Apart from the Adanis and the RP-Sanjeev Goenka Group, the Glazer family, the owners of English Premier League giants Manchester United, have shown interest in the IPL teams.
It is learned that a corporate behemoth in India is backing Manchester United. According to a report in March this year, Manchester United’s net debt increased to 455 million Great Britain Pounds due to a sharp fall in gate receipts due to COVID-19.
“The BCCI is not keen to give the rights to an off-shore company and will prefer Indian buyers but power equations can change the script dramatically,” said the source.
Among those who have picked up bids, documents are pharma companies like Torrent Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma. A Singapore-based private equity firm and US-based venture capitalists have also shown interest. Naveen Jindal (Jindal Power and Steel) and entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala are also keen to acquire a new team.
Deepika Padukone Keen To Take Part Bidding Process Of Two New IPL Teams
The results will be declared in Dubai on October 25, a day after the T20 World Cup blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. But, first, there will be an elimination round where all bids will be ‘technically’ verified as per rules laid out by the BCCI. All successful bids will then be opened, and the highest bidders will be awarded the teams.
“Although it is a closed bid, we are expecting a fair and transparent process. The only hodgepodge could happen in the verification/elimination stage but it is unlikely BCCI will adopt unfair means to favour particular companies,” said a bidder on condition of anonymity.
Winning bids could be anywhere between 375 to 425 million USD per team for a 10-year license. That means BCCI will make anything between 3000-3500 Crores per team. But there could be bigger surprises in store.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are said to be very keen on taking part in the bidding process of two new IPL teams. But the sources refused to reveal more details. Deepika Padukone has a sports background, and earlier, she was the ambassador for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Bollywood has a great connection with cricket, and stars like Shah Rukh, Preity Zinta, and Shilpa Shetty already own three teams, respectively.
BCCI expects to raise around Rs 7,000-10,000 crore from the team bidding process slated to take place on October 25. While the IPL bid document costs just Rs 10 lakh, the league allows only firms and consortiums with an annual turnover of Rs 3,000 crore to bid for the teams. The base price for new IPL teams is pegged at Rs 2,000 crore.